Tuesday, March 09, 2004
Lost in translation
i watched "lost in translation" last thursday.. only decided to pen my thoughts down now, when i've fully understood the ethos of the film.. the scenes have finally sunk into my mind.. now, when i look back, i can only recall wonderful memories of the show.. it has to be one of the most beautiful films i've watch.. it leaves in the audience this great bittersweet aftertaste..
the story focuses almost solely on the two main characters.. bob (bill murray), and Charlotte (scarlett Johansson).. its about two americans who find themselves in each other in Tokyo..
Bob Harris is a grumpy movie star in town to shoot a whiskey commercial. He is not only plagued by jet lag and gloom over a deteriorating marriage of many years.. he is also in the midst of a midlife crisis that dampens his spirits but not his wit..
Charlotte, the neglected wife of a photographer (Giovanni Ribisi), experiences a similar air-conditioned nightmare.. Married two years, she already feels lost in the relationship, unable to participate in her husband's career or pinpoint what she wants out of life. .When she ventures into the city, she is confronted by a distorted version of Western modernity.. When she reaches out to Buddhism, all she gets is a temple full of priests chanting an incomprehensible Japanese..
the characters are more alienated than awed by the urban tokyo landscape.. these two people discover each other late at night at the bar.. Neither one can sleep. a friendship evolves in their mutual isolation.. When her husband leaves on assignment, Charlotte invites Bob out with her Japanese friends.. The two make the rounds of clubs, karaoke joints, strip bars, private homes and video-game arcades..
Coppola sees in Tokyo's crowded, neon-lit urban landscape a society estranged from its own culture.. The night is filled with pleasure-seekers obsessed by games, toys and American pop culture.. Only when Charlotte takes a train to Kyoto is she able to experience the old Japan of ancient temples and gardens, tea houses and kimono-clad figures..
the movie flirts with a sexual relationship between these two, but Coppola holds back, aware not only of the characters' age differences but a realization that what ails the couple cannot be resolved with sexual healing.. rather, Coppola only seeks to display the problems that they face..
and it is portrayed in a way, kept perfectly simple, to help convey the problem of isolation.. the durations of the scenes between bob and Charlotte are purposely stretched, especially the placid scenes, and are surrounded by a sheen of gloom.. it makes the audience only concentrate and zoom in on the two actors, as surrounding distractions are effectively erased.. its like two brightly lit stars amid a scenario of despair.. the film does not seek to convey a philosophical solution to this problem.. it just displays the problem with such flair and simplicity that one can easily put oneself in the shoes of the actors.. The film may frustrate the audience, being that it is slow and meandering at times, ambiguous, and unresolved. This reveals the brilliance of its direction. The audience will feel what the characters themselves feel. This is the entire intention of the film. It highlights the frustration and disappointment that some feel in this world. It shows that even though there may be someone in this world with whom we could connect--sometimes that connection is not possible.
the film shows how much friendship can mean and be appreciated when one really needs it.. in the film, its really a win-win situation when both characters embark on a "soul-searching" mission--to find themselves..
the final scene between bob and Charlotte is really the most touching scenes i've ever seen in the multiplex.. it is when they part, and its really the climax of the show.. having painstaking built up their friendship since the day they got to know each other, the bond between them is so intense, so intricately weaved, that when they are about to go their separate ways(bob is due to return to america), all is about to be lost.. the times they've spent together, the fun they've shared, the tears they shed.. memories that'll forever be etched in their hearts, similarly, in the audience's.. the audience is kept in the dark what bob wispered to charlotte at the end.. tomorrow, they'll carry on their lives as usual, and this wonderful time spent together would only form a part of their memories.. they will lose contact totally, and will never meet again..
this role fits Murray like his own skin.. A middle-aged burnout who sees no challenges on his horizon gradually changes into a man revitalized by another alienated soul.. His comic touch enriches the character with a self-deprecating wit and, in a few sequences, a rubbery physicality that earns sustained laughs.,
also, we're captivated by the beautiful Scarlett Johansson, who carried out her role with such flair and grace.. and with a certain display of translucency, that somehow helps to bring the story to life.. whatever she feels inside, can be seen as it is radiated by her facial and body expressions.. Johansson makes Charlotte's loneliness and disillusionment palpable as the woman is cut off from life in ways she never imagined..
also, other than the issue of isolation, "Lost in Translation" is a powerful and insightful film about one of the most fundamental of personal inquiries--purpose.. it has this catartic effect as it brings to surface the audience own feelings of finding themselves, as what they are watching on the screen may be parallel to their innermost feelings.. In other words, it is a movie about soul searching. Virtually all of us, at some point in time, will ponder our place in this world--asking who we are, what we are supposed to do, and with whom we are supposed to be. Most individuals likely do not have to struggle with this question, either because they do not care, or because they simply occupy themselves with the routine and mundane fascinations of daily life, ignoring the deeper and more troubling nature of their existence. For others, however, the question of purpose in life can be a haunting, even paralyzing, burden. For those individuals who have personally felt this weight, it feels as if you are lost in the world. You do not know who you are, where you are going, or what you want. You feel melancholic, listless, and numb. You are not amused by the small trappings of daily life. And you want nothing more than to break out of the routine, and find your way. But, because finding the way is so difficult, you often drown yourself in sorrow and doubt.
thanks, Sofia Coppola, for creating one of the most inspiring films ever..